Just my personal opinion, I don't expect anyone else to put their name to it.
Bet I'm not alone though...
I have no issue with traditional gypsies, I have great respect for their way of life, it's the parasitic bastards that use the law when it suits them and ignore it when theres a quid to be made from us tax payers or anyone that has the nerve to leave copper pipes on the outside of their house, or lead on their church roofs, they are the ones I call pikeys, not proper gypsies that travel to follow the seasonal work available.
Lets liven this thread up and jump to the defence of pikeys, orderly queue please...
Pikeys I like.................
Pikeys I don't like....................
There is an established Pikey community, sorry can't call them gypsies, in Craigavon, where I'm from. They arrived about ten years ago, and there was something akin to Dale Farm. Eventually, the council actually built a mini estate for them!
They all have Republic of Ireland registrations on their cars and caravans as that way, they don't have to tax their vehicles, no mot, and most likely no insurance either. The reason for this is that they claim benefits on both sides of the border, and a lot have caravans down south as well.
They make a pretty good living, as none of them have jobs, and keep to themselves. Except when a feud breaks out between families and the police have to move in and arrest them, as the violence spills over onto non pikey land, or if it's serious, they call the ambulance and police themselves when clan members suffer knife, hammer or axe wounds.
There is a lot of stereotypical bigotry on this subject, but they are a drain on the welfare system, and abuse it willy nilly.
The only threat the local Gypo community pose is if you have horses that aren't branded. They nick them and sell them at their famous horse fair gatherings.
Wouldn't want to tangle with them though. They are invariably hard bastards, and excellent scrappers.